UP: Bareilly Police Busts Conversion Racket With Links To Madrasa Cleric, Zakir Naik's Radicalisation CD Seized

On Monday (1 September), the Bareilly Police reported the arrest of four men who are suspected of operating a purported religious conversion scheme, which aimed at susceptible families in various districts.

The four suspects have been identified by the police as Abdul Majeed, Salman, Arif, and Faheem, Indian Express reported. Majeed, employed as a cleric at a madrasa, is said to be the brains behind the conversion gang, according to the police.

"The racket came to light when Akhilesh Kumari, a resident of Aligarh, reported that her visually impaired son, Prabhat Upadhyay, had gone missing on 15 August," Additional Superintendent of Police, Bareilly South, Anshika Verma, told journalists.

"Four to five people were giving him the temptation of marriage and pressuring him for conversion. A police team reached the Madrasa and saw four to five people…They claimed Prabhat would be renamed Hamid,” Verma added.

10 books and 12 CDs, including one belonging to Zakir Naik, were seized from Prabhat’s possession, Verma said, adding, “We have also recovered Aadhaar Cards, a passport, religious books and conversion certificates."

The police have reported that Prabhat, an academic with a PhD from Hyderabad University and a faculty member at public colleges, had connections with gang members. His involvement with this group allegedly began following his divorce, as stated by his mother in her complaint.

Authorities reported that Prabhat's mother claimed the men had been exerting pressure on him for several months. Upon confronting the madrasa with her family members, they were met with threats and were forcibly dismissed.

The police have reported that the gang also converted Brijpal Sahu, an inhabitant of Subhash Nagar in Bareilly, over ten years ago and gave him the new name, Abdullah. In addition, Sahu's sister and mother were also converted, with their new names being Aisha and Amina respectively, replacing their previous identities as Usha Rani.

“The police have registered a case under sections 140(3) (abduction), 351(3) (criminal intimidation) of the BNS and relevant sections of the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. Further investigation is underway,” police stated.